Self Evaluation

Through out the course, we were given several assignments on highly debated topics. Finally, we got to choose our own social issue. My group came together completely at random- before this assignment I had never talked to anyone in my group. I couldn't have been put in a better group. As a team, we did all of our assignments. We had no problems in one person not working or one person doing all of the work. In GC, we all worked together to find people who didn't know about Darfur and educate them about it. It was a funny experience (almost getting arrested) and enlightening- more than half of the people we interviewed had no idea where Darfur even was. Together, we stayed in the library until 1 am editing a video. Together, we stayed up all night writing our research paper. Between us we must have drank like 7 gallons of Red Bull. Before this project, I had an idea of what Darfur was but I had no idea how serious the matter was. I learned so much about Darfur, and even after the project I will continue following what is going on in this region. Before, I was never much of a person to join a club or donate money to the annoying people walking aroun GC, but after this project it made me realize that those annoying people are working hard for a cause that they believe in. Our cause was Darfur, and I believe in our cause now, too. Learning about Darfur, I have come to realize that people there are stripped of their rights as humans. Women are raped, people are kicked out of their own homes, innocent people are killed, and all because of religion. As a person who has all these rights, I have learned I should take more advantage and try to make a difference. Although I am only one person, I have learned that it doesn't take alot of people to make an impact. If I could take another course on issues like these, I would.

Global Warming

We recently watched Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming. Although I do not neccessarily love Al Gore, I think that his movie really made a difference in raising awareness about global warming. Many people thought it was a phenomenon, and Al Gore put alot of effort into the movie to change the mind of people. I also was interested in the Kyoto Protocol, which is a treaty that every country except the United States has signed to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level at a that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The only other place awaiting to ratify Kyoto was Australia, which as of today signed the agreement. Once the new prime minister took oath, it was the first thing he did. George Bush refuses to sign a treaty that will decrease the income of the country. He wants to look for a different way of curving global warming. So far, there is no way except to reduce our carbon emission. The United States is one of the top countries responsible for global warming, and people still refuse to see that. Everyday, I read atleast 3 articles in a single newspaper about global warming. Global warming is causing ecosystems to collapse and the animals who live in it to suffer. Although many people think that this has nothing to do with us, it does. If the United States does not ratify Kyoto, global warming affect us sooner than later, and we will all face the consequences of this issue.